How Happiness Happens
The story of a Butlers chocolate, from cocoa bean to chocolate box.
At Butlers, we like to think we’re bringing a little happiness to the world, one chocolate at a time. So let’s follow the story of one of these chocolates, a gianduja - which is a type of praline (more about pralines later) - from the cocoa bean on the tree to the chocolate in its beautiful presentation box.
Cocoa is the main ingredient of chocolate. It comes from the cocoa tree, which grows in parts of Latin America and Africa where the climate is tropical. Cocoa beans grow in pods and each pod contains about 30 beans.
Pods take about six months to ripen and are then carefully harvested by hand, so the beans are not damaged. Within 24 hours of harvesting the beans are fermented, during which the sugary pulp disappears from around the bean, allowing the distinctive chocolate flavour to develop.
Once fermented, the beans are then ready to process. The beans are cleaned and roasted and they are then ground into cocoa mass. The cocoa mass is then pressed to produce a pale substance called cocoa butter, from which cocoa powder is produced.
Gianduja is a praline (a confection of hazelnuts, chocolate and sugar), made using milk, white and dark chocolate. Firstly, the ingredients are mixed together. It is important that the chocolate is kept at the correct temperature to maintain a liquid consistency. This process is called “tempering”.
Once the mixture is made, it is transferred by ladle into a tray.
When the mixture has cooled it is removed from the tray in one piece.
Next 'tempered' white chocolate is poured onto the Gianduja and spread over the surface.
Once this has cooled, this is repeated on the second side to create a sandwich of white chocolate and praline.
When the white chocolate has cooled, the entire piece is cut into strips. These strips are then lifted, turned and cut again to create individual rectangular shaped chocolates.
The untidy pieces at the side are removed.
A perfectly cut Gianduja!
Finally, the Gianduja is packed by hand into a special Butlers assortment.
Each box is checked by the Quality Team for both weight and perfection.
Then a protective cushion and selection card are added. Each box is finished with a ribbon and bow. And now our story is complete – a little moment of happiness, just waiting to be enjoyed.
